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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
SENATE BILL 1718 By: Pugh
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to schools; directing the State
Department of Education, in certain collaboration, to
establish the Oklahoma Principal Leadership
Development Program; providing purpose of program;
directing the Department to implement the program in
certain phases; directing the Department to provide
certain stipends to certain principals beginning in
certain school years, subject to available funding;
providing for promulgation of rules; providing for
codification; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 6-250 of Title 70, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The State Department of Education, in collaboration with the
Office of Educational Quality and Accountability and the Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education, shall establish the Oklahoma
Principal Leadership Development Program to increase the
effectiveness of school principals. The program shall provide a
principal leadership framework to reflect best practices and a
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statewide infrastructure that provides consistent access to
sustained, high-quality professional development and mentoring for
school principals.
B. The State Department of Education shall implement the
Oklahoma Principal Leadership Development Program in the following
three phases:
1. Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, the Department shall
publish a professional development plan for principals that provides
learning guidelines and goals. The plan shall include at least one
goal related to student academic growth or achievement, or both, and
at least one goal for school climate. The plan shall include five
(5) days of high-quality professional development targeted on
building skills for school leadership. The plan for elementary
school principals shall include professional development in early
literacy and numeracy. The Department may identify and publish a
list of professional development providers or programs that meet the
requirements of this paragraph;
2. Beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, each new principal
shall work with a principal mentor for two (2) consecutive years.
For the purposes of this section, a new principal is an individual
who has completed the certification requirements for a school
principal pursuant to Section 6-189 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma
Statutes and is serving in his or her first or second year as a
principal of a public school in this state. A principal mentor is
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an individual who has completed the certification requirements for a
school principal and has been employed as a public school principal
for at least five (5) years. A principal mentor shall complete a
training program developed or selected by the Department; and
3. Beginning in the 2028-2029 school year, the State Department
of Education, in collaboration with the Office of Educational
Quality and Accountability and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher
Education, shall use information gained from implementation of
paragraphs 1 and 2 of this subsection to develop a year-long
principal leadership academy. The Department may establish an
implementation timeline for the academy with the goal of providing
an opportunity to all certified principals in this state to complete
the academy.
C. Subject to the availability of funding, beginning with the
2029-2030 school year, the State Department of Education shall
provide a stipend of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) to new
principals, as defined in paragraph 2 of subsection B of this
section, who:
1. Complete five (5) days of high-quality professional
development required by paragraph 1 of subsection B of this section;
2. Complete the two-year mentorship required by paragraph 2 of
subsection B of this section; and
3. Are employed by a public school district in this state.
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D. Upon implementation of the year-long principal leadership
academy as provided for in paragraph 3 of subsection B of this
section and subject to the availability of funding, the State
Department of Education shall provide a stipend of Five Thousand
Dollars ($5,000.00) to certified principals who:
1. Complete the principal leadership academy as provided for in
paragraph 3 of subsection B of this section; and
2. Are employed by a public school district in this state.
E. The State Board of Education may promulgate rules to
implement the provisions of this section.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2026.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
60-2-2258 EB 1/14/2026 11:43:35 AM